Freeance^™ Mobile delivers simple, real time applications that people use on their BlackBerry smartphone to save time and money. Here are some ways TDC customers are using Freeance Mobile software.

South Windsor, Connecticut

Freeance Mobile is used to track the locations of public works crews and vehicles in real time, enabling increased productivity and reduced operational costs. Freeance Mobile also tracks such tasks as leaf removal, lawn mowing, law enforcement, sidewalk inspections and zoning enforcement.
Read the Article in Mobile Enterprise
Read Digital Communities Article 12/2008

Nova Scotia Power

Field asset mapping for an electric utility. Nova Scotia Power delivers power with 5,000 km of transmission and 25,000 km of distribution lines. Freeance Mobile software was deployed to collect the customer connectivity data associated with NSPI’s 25,000km distribution facility, thereby increasing the accuracy of the electric distribution model. Freeance Mobile was selected as a cost effective, easy-to-use data collection solution that would be easy to deploy to multiple widely disbursed teams and increase field crew productivity by eliminating the need to return to an office to transfer data.

Transmitting the collected data directly to the GIS Server during the collection process eliminates the turnaround time between data collection and submission to GIS Technicians for processing.

Using the BlackBerry as a mobile GIS solution enables field personnel access to the most current state of the GIS with very little overhead. BlackBerry smartphones can be used to view, query and collect data with minimal training. The Freeance Mobile solution can be centrally administered making application changes effortless as it enables updates to be pushed out wirelessly. From a safety perspective, field personnel have a means of contacting the office in the event of an emergency or for general questions/concerns. The deployment of mobile GIS for the Customer Connectivity Project has triggered other divisions within the company to identify how mobile GIS could improve their workflow practices.

US National Weather Service

The National Weather Service Southern Region uses BlackBerry smartphones equipped with GPS to survey damage resulting from severe weather. Freeance Mobile software is used to push ESRI map services out to BlackBerry smartphones and to build forms used to log locations and details of storm damage.

Linn County, Iowa

After deploying a Freeance Mobile application, a foreman can record a lat/long location, take a picture of the problem, record a series of notes and upload the information to a database where the office manager can then and assign each of the subsequent tasks to the proper employees. This helps departments take a proactive approach to customer service because the owner of a property doesn’t have to call into that office to let them know there is a sign missing near their property. The overall result is a better model for accomplishing their everyday business tasks.

Albany, New York Police Department

Police applications for mobile commanders and crime event map viewing. Using Freeance Mobile to connect ArcIMS^® software to BlackBerry smartphones to provide situational awareness of parolees, probationers, active warrants, house photos, current property ownership, ROP’s, rental registry, and vacant buildings. Police Community Service Officers are able to check up-to-date quality of life complaints anytime, anywhere. In the past, an officer could not tell if an address had been visited.

The City’s Block by Block campaign is a process to strategically address code compliance, public safety, abandoned buildings, and community development. Freeance Mobile has allowed the City to develop a cohesive, coordinated effort to gather, analyze, and disseminate information, tackling a wide range of issues from discovery to investigation to prosecution.

Oxnard, California

The City deployed Freeance Mobile software for its Trash Total Daily Maximum Load (TMDL) program. Work is being done by the City’s youth job training program called City Corp who are using Freeance Mobile software on BlackBerry smartphones. Plan to integrate with additional back office applications. Many additional uses planned across multiple departments.

Fort Collins, CO

Real-time AVL information available anytime, anywhere to a number of staff persons was the goal of the project. The Streets Department uses a Freeance Mobile application ties an existing AVL system to a real-time application on BlackBerry smartphones so valuable information is available in the field during critical operations. Word is already spreading throughout the organization and numerous other ideas for the delivery of information to the BlackBerry smartphones are being raised.

State of Florida, Division of Emergency Management

Florida DEM is deploying BlackBerry smartphones to survey damage from storms and other related weather events that require map viewing and GPS map point logging with digital photos. Inventory details and location of damage and display on browser based maps. Freeance Mobile will allow Florida DEM to access GIS maps from various BlackBerry smartphone models on any wireless carrier across the State of Florida.

El Paso (TX) Electric Company

Field service uses in an electric distribution utility.

Chicago, Illinois Police Department

Police applications for mobile commanders and crime event map viewing. Special event patrol tracking and AVL on BlackBerry smartphones. Use web and mobile based GIS mapping for law enforcement applications. Developed Where’s My Team for Chicago PD. First time officer locations can be seen live on a BlackBerry using GIS mapping. Integrated with the PD’s award winning service call system. Deploying to 400 officers.

Mobile Area Water Sanitary and Sewer, Alabama

Using the BlackBerry smartphones to access water and sanitary system maps in the field. Used for system locates, work orders and database records in the field by a large water utility.

Houston, Texas

Utility field locations, code inspection and water testing in the Public Works Department. Replaced paper based processes with a Freeance Mobile solution. When responding to customer concerns, investigators no longer manually fill out paper forms and perform data entry at the end of each shift. They now access forms from their BlackBerry smartphone, which is directly connected to a database. The City’s Drinking Water Operations Branch can access critical GIS water utility data through a Blackberry smartphone and see, in real time, customer complaint information collected in the field by investigators.

Simcoe County, Ontario

Implement for government executives to access easy-to-use GIS on their BlackBerry smartphones. Forestry field workers that map trees and other assets. Tracking live location of first responders during emergency events.

Richland County, South Carolina

Looking to test the use of BlackBerry smartphones to show AVL vehicles locations on in-house GIS maps. Use BlackBerry to show AVL vehicles locations on in-house GIS maps.

City of Richmond, British Columbia

Freeance Mobile is being deployed to approximately 100 BlackBerry smartphones used by government employees. The IT and GIS Departments want to help increase productivity for utility workers who access GIS system maps in the field.

City of Calgary, Alberta

Freeance Mobile software to deliver live ArcGIS Server data on BlackBerry smartphones across departments so the City can leverage its investment in ESRI’s GIS and BlackBerry platforms.

Bryan, Ohio

The City uses BlackBerry smartphones with Freeance Mobile software to view GIS utility maps in the field. Freeance Mobile allows the City’s Engineering Department to combine ESRI ArcGIS Server software and BlackBerry, and use simple configuration software, to build applications for State EPA compliance.

South San Francisco, California

Focusing on GIS access for public works employees who reference both utility maps and database records, and do not have laptops in the field.

Vaughan, Ontario

Showing service calls on GIS maps using multiple models of BlackBerry smartphones.The City’s focus is enhancing productivity, cost effectiveness and operational innovation. Freeance Mobile enables elected representatives and senior managers to provide detailed answers to ‘on-the-spot’ questions from citizens, diminishing the City’s service excellence.

Elected officials, senior management and staff can meet citizens they represent and see outstanding service issues on a live, interactive map on a BlackBerry device. The application lets users see aerial photos with overlying property boundaries and icons identifying which properties have open service cases, color-coded by priority. Councilors and city staff can click on a property, see the case details, and give an immediate answer to a citizen, viewing the information right on their BlackBerry Smartphone. Business graphics provide visual feedback as to the number and current status of all open issues.

Prior to Freeance Mobile, the City was unable to leverage its considerable GIS investment in a mobile form to drive staff productivity, cost effectiveness and innovation. Since much of the City’s workflow is related to location in some manner and conducted away from the office, the City’s IT and GIS team saw a major opportunity to increase staff productivity and service excellence if the GIS could be delivered to users in a mobile form.

Cook County, Illinois

The GIS Department of the second-largest county in the United States is deploying Freeance Mobile software. Working with Cook County's IT Department, TDC is helping Cook County build and maintain GIS applications for BlackBerry smartphones.

Thiess Pty

Largest mining company in Australia. Numerous uses around field operations.

Albany, New York Police Department

Police applications for mobile commanders and crime event map viewing. Using Freeance Mobile to connect ArcIMS software to BlackBerry smartphones to provide situational awareness of parolees, probationers, active warrants, house photos, current property ownership, ROP’s, rental registry, and vacant buildings. Police Community Service Officers are able to check up-to-date quality of life complaints anytime, anywhere. In the past, an officer could not tell if an address had been visited.

The City’s Block by Block campaign is a process to strategically address code compliance, public safety, abandoned buildings, and community development. Freeance Mobile has allowed the City to develop a cohesive, coordinated effort to gather, analyze, and disseminate information, tackling a wide range of issues from discovery to investigation to prosecution.

When police officers leave their cruisers and walk up to a large apartment building, they can use Freeance Mobile on their BlackBerry to show who owns the property, are there any parolees residing in the building, are there any arrest warrants issued to this address, see the aerial photography for back entrances to the property. Freeance Mobile is the only way they can see this information in real time on a BlackBerry. The result of using Freeance Mobile in this situation is improved officer safety.

St Cloud, Florida

Live GIS map and record searching by mobile workers in the field.

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Freeance Mobile was chosen to inventory tornado damages and the reconstruction and demolition permitting progresses. The ability to capture GPS coordinates, pictures and data into a single database will increase efficiency and free up labor resources for additional applications to be deployed across the entire city government.

Pierce County, Washington

Field mapping for Emergency Management and Public Works.

Frederick County, MD

First responders at the site of a natural disaster can now quickly find maps of the area, showing the location of power lines, emergency healthcare centers, police stations, municipal boundaries and even new map data such as path of tornado for evacuation routes for hurricanes. First responders also use the BlackBerry to map building damage assessment reports with digital photos, quickly communicating back to emergency operations center where damage is located and where resources are needed.

Freeance Mobile now allows real-time communication and data exchange with first responders. Before deployment of Freeance Mobile, critical field information and damage assessment was only available to emergency headquarters when field workers came in at the end of the day.

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

The County Coroner is using Freeance mobile in the field to map crime locations. Using Freeance Mobile, the Coroner databases records with GPS locations at the crime scene using Blackberry smartphones. The County’s GIS maps are displayed on BlackBerry smartphones allowing investigators to lookup property owners, aerial photography, political boundaries and other geographic layers.